


Electricity Under My Skin

by EternityPrevails



Series: Neurodivergent Bats [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics), Son of Batman (2014)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Autistic Damian Wayne, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne Gets a Hug, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson Has ADHD, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Panic Attacks, Police Officer Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternityPrevails/pseuds/EternityPrevails
Summary: Damian has an anxiety attack because Dick is running late coming home after his police shift.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: Neurodivergent Bats [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666051
Kudos: 197





	Electricity Under My Skin

Damian knew rationally that nothing was wrong. Dick was just running late, he ran late all the time it was part of his nature. But that rational thought didn't ease the uncontroaled anxiety that Damian felt surging like electricity. He wanted to claw his skin off in an effort to get the electrical anxiety out of him. Again he knew how irrational that thougth was but he couldn'tt help it. The anxiety felt like it was wrapped around his throat, weighing on his stomach, and burnign under his skin all at the same time. It felt suffocating and maddening.

  
Still he knew there was no reason for him to have this level of irrational anxiety.

**but something could have happened to him**

a dark voice whispered into Damian head and it made his lungs feel constricted. no no no nothing happened to him he was just running late. Damian desperatly tried to convince himself. He began pacing the small studio appartment where he was staying with DIck while Bruce was out of town on actual wayne industry buisness. Damian started chewing on his nails hoping that allowing himself to stim would help him calm down. And it did for a short while but after a few minutes the cruel inner monolouge felt the need to speak up again. 

**what if something happened to him while he was on paatrol, or a car accident on the way home, or what if he got attacked in civilian clothes.**

Damian felt sick, anxiety fueled tears burned at his eyes. He knew he needed to calm down. Dick was just running late, nothing bad had happened. No, none of those things happened. Damian tried to rationalize the possibilities. What most likely happened was Dick was finling paperwork, or his replacment was running late for the shift change, or he was booking someone, or he got caught up talking to some of his coworkers, or he was stuck in traffic. All reasonable reasons for him to be running late. even with his rationalizing his anxiety only increased as he listened to the infuriating tick of the clock on the wall. 

DIck was an hour late. That wasn't even that uncommon for him and certainly wasn't somethig worth panicking over. But Damian couldn;t control the irrational anxiety burning through him. 

An idea struck him, he coudl just text him asking him why he was late. Yeah that would work. Damian grabbed his school bag shuffling through it unsteady in his panic and pulled out his phone. 

"Grayson must you always be late?" Damian tried to make the message sound like he wasn't having a full fleged anxiety attack. Dick would text back in a second making a joke and saying he'd be home soon, Damian was sure of it. 

Five minutes passed

Ten

Fifteen

Damians voision blurred to the point he couldn't see the time on his phone anymore. Grayson non-response was gasonaline on the fire and Damian felt himself completely loose control. He couldn't breath. His anxiety was refusing to listen to any kind of reason. It was determined something abd had happened to Grayson and Damian couldnt rationalize himself out of his panicked state.

He began to feel dizzy and sat down with his back against the couch wiping tears off his face. He was being irrational, he knew he was being irrational, there was no reason for him to freak out like this over Dick being late. Unfortunately anxiety didnt care about rationality. Damian scratched at his arms wanting the uncomfurtable electric energy to leave his body. Everything seemed overwhelming. 

The cruel voice in his head spit out every irrational idea as to things that could have happened to Dick and why he was late and not answering his texts. 

He got so loat in his panic that he didnt hear the door open and didnt nothmice anither presence in the room till something touched his arm. His head shot up still panic filled and looked at the person infront if him. It was Dick crouching down infront of him touching the side of his arm. 

"Little D? What happened?" Dicks voice was calm and sent a wave of relief through Damian that was equally as overwhelming as the panic it replaced. He launched himself into dicks arms burrying his face in the crevis of his older brother neck. 

"You were late...not responding to text...i thought something happened...i...anxiet attack. Damian words were weak and choppy. Coming down off his anxiety high made him feel weak and sick. 

Dick tightened his arms around Damian petting his hair softly."im sorry Dami, i hmgot caught up with paperwork and my phone died. I didnt mean to scare you." 

Damian looked up wiping tears off his face. He looked down ashamed of his behavior "im sorry, im acting childi..."

"No." Dick cut him off "your allowed to have anxiety atracks. Its not childish, but hey im proud of you"

Damian was confused "why?"

Dick smiled "because I know how much anxiety attacks suck and if this had happened thre emo ths ago you would have shut down completely or hurt youself by accident. You didnt do either of those things so im proud of you."

Damian once again was confused. He looked at his arms and hands, he was certain he had been scratching his arms and cheming on his fingers but there was no broken skin. "Come on, how about we go get icecream" Dick offered and Damian scoffed

"Grayson, what would Pennyworth say if he found us earing ice cream for dinner." 

Dicks grin just grew "well we just wont twll" 

Damian couldnt help but scoff with exasperation. He was already feeling much better.


End file.
